FIRS Board Sacks Moribund Junior Staff Union, NCSU

BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – For breaching an existing National Industrial Court Judgement and constituting an executive body allegedly populated by senior staff, the Board of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has sacked Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU), FIRS Unit.

The FIRS Board outlined its reasons for dissolving the Union in an official statement circulated to all staff on Sunday, July 18, 2021, saying; “In line with Gazette No. 6 Vol 65 dated 8th February 1978 and National Industrial Court Judgement dated 27th June 1995, it is noted that the operations of Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) FIRS Unit as it is constituted today in FIRS is considered illegal as there are no longer any junior staff cadre employees in the service.

“There is accordingly no legal or other bases whatsoever for the continued existence of a junior staff cadre union in FIRS as the cadre of staff it is deemed to cover do not exist within the organisation. A letter from the Federal Ministry of Labour to the Head of Service of the Federation dated 19th February 2015 confirmed the above position in categorical terms.”

A statement signed by the Director, Communications and Liaison Department of FIRS, Abdullahi Ismaila Ahmad, quoted the Board as further clarifying that “the right of workers to decide which Union to belong to is not absolute, but must be exercised within the limits of the Trade Unions Act CAP T14 LFN 2004”, adding; “This position was confirmed in the Judgment of the National Industrial Court – NCSU vs ASCSN (2004) 1NLLR Part 3, 427.”

“In the light of all the above, the FIRS Board at its Meeting No. 30 held on the 24th June 2021 therefore directed that, in view of items 1 & 2 above, the activities of NCSU FIRS Unit in the Service are henceforth considered illegal and the Union (NCSU FIRS Unit) is hereby proscribed with immediate effect”, the statement said.

However, the Management assured staff that “it is unreservedly willing to work and cooperate with the only legitimate representatives of staff, that is to say, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria.”

Accordingly, it urged the staff to fully redouble their efforts in executing the FIRS’ mandate of “assessing, collecting, and accounting for tax revenue for all levels of government as contained in the FIRS Establishment Act (2007).”